The present invention relates generally to the field of data storage systems, and more particularly to network security in data storage systems.
Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media used to retain digital data. It is a core function and fundamental component of computers.
The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer is what manipulates data by performing computations. In practice, almost all computers use a storage hierarchy, which puts fast, expensive, small storage options close to the CPU and slower but larger and cheaper options farther away. Generally, the fast volatile technologies (which lose data when off power) are referred to as “memory”, while slower persistent technologies are referred to as “storage”; however, “memory” is sometimes also used when referring to persistent storage.
Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) is a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) based protocol for establishing and managing connections between IP-based storage devices, hosts, and clients. The iSCSI protocol describes a transport protocol for SCSI, which operates on top of TCP and provides a mechanism for encapsulating SCSI commands in an IP infrastructure. The iSCSI protocol is employed for data storage systems that have a TCP/IP infrastructure.